The Shores of Childhood
My world has changed dramatically,
Since a few years;
It is now full of distress,
Full of sorrow and tears.
The trees bear no resemblance
To the beautiful green meadows;
They are now ghostly figures,
Lingering in the shadows.
Disturbing sounds fill the night -
Like the silent sob of the wailing sea,
The howl of the wind through the bare tree tops;
Yes, life is not as it used to be.
For many a year I have tried to solve
The mystery behind this disaster;
The cause of this terrible depression,
Of the seize of joy and laughter.
I have come to a conclusion
That the reason behind this misery is war,
The war-that steals from me my childhood;
Which from that day on - I scarcely saw.
So take me back
To the shores of childhood,
To the sands of happiness, the waves of peace;
To the dark green wood;
Take me back to the shores of childhood,
Let us sail on the clouds, so we shall reach there with ease,
So that I may once again be a child,
Living my childhood in peace.
The flowers have lost their sweet smell,
The moaning wind weeps by the trees,
The grass is now coarse and dry-
Serenity has now seized.
I’m all alone in the shadows of darkness
Without a path to follow;
My world is in chaos and misery,
My heart - an endless hollow.
Day by day, my childhood creeps away from me
Years flow by like rushing spring water,
My mind is tormented
By views of blood and slaughter.
The shores of childhood await me
And I intend to pursue their calls,
Before my childhood is lost forever
And my world to pieces falls.
So take me back to the tranquil
Shores of childhood,
To the sands of happiness, the waves of peace,
To the dark green wood,
Take me back to the shores of childhood,
Let us sail on the clouds, so we may reach my destination with ease,
So that I may once again be a child,
Living my childhood in peace.
- Suchaita Tenneti, age 12
Colima
An arched cathedral
in Colima, Mexico,
stooped alabaster Virgin Mary
bending..hearing
moving lips of black wrapped widows
grateful children
I saw him, in a white shirt,
in this place,
and I shook.
The plaza, her white skirted girls.
napping men,
a fountain's heroic deity kneeling..hiding
beneath the water's fall.
Under the jacaranda,
I saw him
stained glass in his eye,
a noon light blowing against that blue,
and it tied me
where the jacaranda drops.
- Paloma
The Mouse
Scitter, scatter,
Oh my, what's at her?
Leaves and grass,
Out the door, into the glass.
The moon is full,
The cicadas singing,
The mouse, she's still at work.
The house, it's quivering at her footsteps,
The jars, watered to the depths,
What is that mouse doing?
She's preparing a feast for her wedding,
For visitors cleaning the bedding,
And for herself,
SHE'S:
Frilling and lacing her dress,
The veil, none less,
Sewing on flowers and weeds,
Pictures of good deeds,
Picturesque fluffy cotton puffs,
And the lovely things that aren't rough.
It's morning, the morning of the wedding,
The mouse is draping the house with pink padding.
She's decorating the cake with honey,
And making last-minute corrections to her bridal money,
And adding fresh flowers to her veil,
And ginger, cinnamon and apples to the meal.
She's changing into her wedding dress,
And waiting, for the first guest.
Here comes the groom,
His clothes made on a fine loom,
Of the name of Lámperé,
Of unique, French hair.
The minister has come,
The wedding is done,
And the bridal ceremony is starting…
The bride is kissed,
The snake just hissed,
And the cake is devoured by hungry relatives,
There is dancing and music, and the mouse loves to live.
- Sigrid, age 10
The Test
Oh no, it's time for the test,
I didn't study, only just rest,
I'm gonna do bad and probably flunk,
And all my guesses will just be junk.
There was my paper, on my desk flat,
I felt dazed, like a brainless rat.
"Ready, go!" the teacher said firm,
My brain struggled like a warped, weird worm.
One, two, three, four,
I thought, "Wow, already no more!"
When I turned it in I had a thought,
"Maybe I did well, my brain didn't rot."
I almost fainted when I saw the "A".
I felt like standing up and yelling, "Oh hurray!"
That "A" was like a miracle come true.
It happened to me, and it may happen to you!
- Zachary Gobie, age 10
Reflections
Reflections upon reflections
Reflections in the mirror
Multiplying manifold
A single solitary image.
The world became a deeper reflection of divine
In its multiple misery and abundant canine
Though a dull image with dusty overlay
Mingled rigidly by senses to cover their outlay.
We ourselves some images of very chance
Reflecting upon reflections in our sultry calm
But deeper down our soul we may dig its mire
And throw away our superfluous winded attire.
There will shine an image of our being
Reflection upon reflection of mirror into mirror
Of mirror into mirror of infinity to hand
Of infinity of redemption in an intenser land.
- Durlabh Singh
Golden Temple
Riding high on the limpid waves
Rising high on the shimmering presence
Blue waters of white marbled chequers
For the eternal hymns of wayward heart
The golden domes invoking a saffron path.
Novices of thoughts and sunshine abiding
The golden swarms of vibratory atoms
The hush of pilgrims on the circular pitch
Tearing apart structures of egoed ditch.
Give vent to destinations of beauty & liberty
The concerns of soul now past its restrictions
Illuminate a glance bereft of the inner tumult
Saluting the Guru’s presence in a silent rebirth.
- Durlabh Singh
Strike
I line myself up with the pins,
Bowling ball glinting in the light,
*Step*
Ball goes back as i step forward,
*Step*
Begins to speed down,
*Step*
Moving through the air,
*Step*
Relasing the ball it zooms down the lane,
Crash! Smacking the pocket with a thundering boom,
All the pins bounce everywhere,
Strike!
- David Cannons, age 13
Guardian Angel
My guardian angel stood 12 feet tall
When I looked up to him, I felt rather small
He looked at me with caring eyes
and smiled at me to my surprise.
"I will always be with you"
He said as he stood
See him again, I wish I could.
Timothy, age 11
Poem
All the animals in the zoo,
Monkeys, elephants, tigers and shrew.
The monkeys eat peanuts,
The elephants too,
The tigers eat meat and they might eat YOU!!!!
- Laura Reynolds, age 12, London
Unworthy But Loved
All my emotions run dry,
Every time I heard you died.
For your love has a hold on me.
I want the world to know
How you died for me,
Upon that cross in Calvary.
So I tell them of your love.
The laughing the spiting
The undoable pain,
But you endured it all
So I could be free again.
I thank you for loving me.
I'm unworthy of your love,
But I am through
Jesus Christ your son.
- Leah McGuirk, age 13
Dealing with Death
When one dies, should there be any lies,
Or should there be truth?
For there may soon, be another,
and then one other.
And when there is,
should you just kiss all your calls away,
Or should they be dealt with day by day?
- Gigi Spurlock, age 15
Down with the Grown-Ups
Down with the grown-ups, do them in.
Round them up and put them in the bin.
They're driving me up the wall, they're making me mad.
Grown ups are really, really bad.
They're always acting like they're the boss;
And if you don't tidy your bedroom up, BOY DO THEY GET CROSS!
They always take so long when they chat to their friends.
I think they might just drive me RIGHT AROUND THE BEND!
- Holly Morran
Halloween
Halloween is a holiday,
when goblins and ghosts appear.
They love to haunt and scare everyone,
and bringing them great fear.
Halloween is a holiday,
when we go to trick or treat.
You ring doorbells and ask for candy
and walk from street to street.
Halloween is a holiday,
for spirits who come out.
They celebrate this very day,
and at midnight, they dance about.
- Lena Ren, age 11, 2000
Bullies
With a punch and a kick and a bash
And an IQ lower than trash
He would bully and bite
Swear and fight,
And he thought he was awesome and flash.
A teacher as thick as a mule
Was running a terrible school,
And even so
She wouldn't go
And made everyone look like a fool.
- Nicholas Calver, age 11
Poems
"There once was a monkey from Philly
Who thought it to be quite chilly
He jumped into a barrel
With his best friend Darryl
And they made their way off to Maui."
"We once saw a rainbow so bold
We were hoping we would find some gold
A leprechaun of green
Was all that was seen
So we left 'cause we got too cold."
"Yummy yummy
Banana split
Lots of ice cream for me to lick
Hot fudge galore
And tons of whipped cream
A cherry on top
My favorite treat!"
"A tiny seed planted in May
We watered it and cared for it
Until one day...
A huge sunflower bloomed at dawn
Opening its petals to show everyone its beauty."
"Autumn has arrived
Leaves fall softly on the ground
Red, yellow, and green
Soon they will all disappear
Snow will begin falling down."
"Snow falling softly
Crystals floating to the ground
Blanketing the earth."
- Rhiannon Duncan
Teddy Bears
They have big, brown eyes
And wide, furry faces,
I have yet to see
One with braces;
They're respectable gents
With glasses and ties;
There's something about a bear
That always catches my eye.
You can take him to school,
He won't make a fuss,
And he's a big hit
When you ride the bus;
A teddy is a friend
Like no other;
You can take him for pizza
Or to visit your grandmother.
A teddy bear knows
How to steal your heart,
When you've got a problem,
He's really smart;
He's not the kind
To send you away,
He opens his arms
And says it's okay.
- Joel Bjorling
Wintertime
Winter is going to begin today
Let's start shouting hooray
Go ride your sled
Then go to bed
Because winter started today
- Jennifer Fisher
Pumpkins
Walking through the pumpkin patch
If I throw it will you catch
The orange ball
That grows in fall
Pick one too and we'll have a match
- Jennifer Fisher
Tight Squeeze
Peek-a-boo, Peek-a-boo,
Just where could you be.
Under the bed,
behind the door,
or way up in a tree.
Peek-a-boo, Peek-a-boo,
I see where you are.
But for the life of me,
I don't see.
How you'll get out of that cookie jar.
- Evan Wolff
The Sad Tale of Fabulous Filbert
Fabulous Filbert, the performing flea
Had a phone call from the BBC
To do a documentary
On early Cossack hats
Alas, alack 'twas not his day
Rolf Harris was on holiday
So there was no job and so no pay
And a cleaner squashed him flat
And that was that
- Rob Erskine, adult
Why Grandma Hasn't Invited Me To Dinner In Quite Some Time
My grandma was wearing her favorite white dress.
We ate vegetable soup from the store.
Then I let out a cough,
At the same time a sneeze,
And need I,
Oh need I say more.
- William Daniels, adult
What To Do If Your Grandparents Ever say,
"Eat it. Head Cheese Is Good For You."
You clutch at your throat
And you fall to your knees.
Then you roll all around
And you gasp and you wheeze.
Then you kick up your feet
And pretend to be dead
('cause who wants to eat
something made from a head!)
- William Daniels, adult
If Vacuum Cleaners Could Fly
What a wonderful invention it would be
If this vacuum cleaner could fly.
I would ride on the wind and I'd soar with the birds
As I cleaned up the smog-filled sky.
And if somebody asked me, "What is it that you do?"
I'd stand up and proudly reply,
"I'm the high flying and fearless,
The quite often tearless,
The flying and vacuuming guy."
And what a wonderful invention it would be
If this vacuum cleaner could float.
I'd zip through the water and skip through the waves
In my fast moving vacuuming boat.
Then I'd clean up the rivers, the lakes and the seas,
The oceans and all of the shores…
But until it's invented
I'm the one who's in charge
Of the vacuuming up of the floors.
- William Daniels, adult
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